Public Resource
Survey Says: Considerable Interest In Electric Vehicles Across Racial, Ethnic Demographics
Consumer Reports, Union of Concerned Scientists, EVNORE, and Green Latinos
Across all racial demographics, overall interest in purchasing EVs is high. Americans of color show at least as great a level of interest in purchasing an electric vehicle as white consumers: 33% of white, 38% of Black, 43% of Latino, and 52% of Asian Americans say they would “definitely” or “seriously consider” purchasing or leasing an EV as their next vehicle. For those individuals who identified charging as an issue limiting adoption, availability of publicly accessible charging remains a greater concern than convenience or long charging times. In terms of perceived cost barriers, more Black and Latino individuals identify maintenance and repair costs as a consideration holding them back from purchasing or leasing an EV (54% of Black and 48% of Hispanic respondents, compared with 37% of white respondents), while more white and Asian Americans for whom cost is an issue identify purchase price as the primary concern. Increasing affordable, accessible, reliable public EV charging infrastructure situated in safe locations would address all of the groups’ biggest concerns about EV charging.